CHARLOTTE, N.C. — In one of the strangest twists of NASCAR’s new Chase for the Sprint Cup rules, the current format — which is designed to reward winning — would have resulted in a winless Dale Earnhardt Jr. winning the 2013 Cup title.

While winning plays an important role in the new Chase format, it is possible to win the Cup championship without a winning a race. As shown below, Earnhardt would have done it last year, rallying from a bad start in the Chase to win the title with a series of consistent finishes.

“I was eliminated from the Chase (under this scenario), and then to see a guy go on and win the deal with no wins just fries the brain,” said Kyle Busch, who won four races and finished fourth in the Chase last year but would have been eliminated under the current system.

So how could Earnhardt, who has just one win in the past five years, have possibly won the 2013 title under the new rules?

Here's a look at how the 2013 Chase would have played out:

WHO’S IN

Of the top 30 drivers in points who attempted to qualify for every race, 11 made it by winning a race during the 26-race regular season. The rest of the 16-driver field would have been filled by points. Although Tony Stewart and Brian Vickers had wins, they did not attempt to qualify for every race.

Now we’ll look at each round. For the winners who advance, their point total is in parentheses.

CHALLENGER ROUND

Drivers enter this round with 2,000 points, plus three bonus points for each regular-season win.

Advancing

1. Kenseth: Chicago, New Hampshire winner (2,149)

2. Johnson: Dover winner (2,141)

3. Kyle Busch: 2,137

4. Harvick: 2,110

5. Gordon: 2,110

6. Biffle: 2,108

7. Newman: 2,104

8. McMurray: 2,098

9. Bowyer: 2,098

10. Kyle Busch: 2,094

11. Truex: 2,093

12. Earnhardt: 2,092

Eliminated

13. Edwards: 2,084

14. Logano: 2,083

15. Kahne: 2,077

16. Ragan: 2,056

CONTENDER ROUND

Drivers enter this round with 3,000 points. There is no bonus points from previous wins.

Advancing

1. Harvick: Kansas winner (3,118)

2. McMurray: Talladega winner (3,100)

3. Johnson: 3,113

4. Earnhardt: 3,110

5. Gordon: 3,110

6. Kenseth: 3,101

7. Kurt Busch: 3,099

8. Bowyer: 3,099

* Brad Keselowski won at Charlotte.

Eliminated

9. Biffle: 3,093

10. Kyle Busch: 3,091

11. Truex: 3,083

12. Newman: 3,081

ELIMINATOR ROUND

Drivers enter this round with 4,000 points. There are no bonus points for previous wins.

Advancing

1. Gordon: Martinsville winner (4,084)

2. Johnson: Texas winner (4,130)

3. Harvick: Phoenix winner (4,122)

4. Earnhardt: 4,119

Eliminated

5. Kenseth: 4,106

6. Bowyer: 4,100

7. Kurt Busch: 4,092

8. McMurray: 4,074

CHAMPIONSHIP

Drivers have their points reset to 5,000. These drivers are not eligible for bonus points for leading a lap or leading the most laps.

1. Earnhardt: 5,042 (3rd at Homestead)

2. Johnson: 5,035 (9th at Homestead)

3. Harvick: 5,034 (10th at Homestead)

4. Gordon: 5,033 (11th at Homestead)

REST OF THE FIELD

Drivers eliminated in first three rounds have their points reset to 2,000, plus three bonus points for regular-season wins, plus points earned during the Chase.

5. Matt Kenseth: 2,400

6. Kyle Busch: 2,364

7. Bowyer: 2,336

8. Logano: 2,323

9. Biffle: 2,321

10. Truex: 2,310

11. Kurt Busch: 2,309

12. Kahne: 2,289

13. Newman: 2,289

14. McMurray: 2,286

15. Edwards: 2,282

16. Ragan: 2,144

WHAT WE LEARNED

• Dale Earnhardt Jr. was the last driver to advance in two of the three rounds and ended up winning the title with no wins during the entire year.

• In the first round, Earnhardt was the last driver to advance and his average finish was 14.3 as he was able to come back from a 35th-place finish at Chicago with a sixth at New Hampshire and second at Dover. Edwards, the first driver out, had an average finish of 18.3 thanks to a 35th-place finish at Dover after starting the Chase with an 11th at Chicago and ninth at New Hampshire. Logano, who was third at Dover, couldn’t compensate for a 37th at Chicago and a 14th at New Hampshire.

• In the second round, Bowyer was the last driver to advance with an average finish of 11.7. Bowyer was tied with Kurt Busch for seventh so both advance but it brings up the question of tiebreakers — the tiebreaker is best finish in the round (not the entire season). Biffle was the first driver out and had an average finish of 13.3. Kyle Busch scored the most points over the final two races thanks to a fifth at Charlotte and fifth at Talladega but couldn’t compensate for a 34th at Kansas.

• The final elimination round was the only time when a Chase driver won a race (Jeff Gordon) to advance when he would have not advanced by points. That knocked out Kenseth, who was fourth overall in points in that segment, after finishing second at Martinsville, fourth at Texas but 23rd at Phoenix. Earnhardt finished eighth at Martinsville, second at Texas and fourth at Phoenix.

• Although Gordon competed for the Cup title, his team actually would not have been eligible for the owners championship. With Stewart-Haas Racing's No. 14 and Michael Waltrip Racing's No. 55 having won a race during the year (Stewart for SHR, Vickers for MWR), they would have been eligible for the owners portion of the bonus money. The Gordon and McMurray teams would not.